Terms : Hide Images
| 198512078 | ad hominem | from the Latin meaning "to or against man", this is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, to feeling rather than intellect | |
| 198512079 | allegory | the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning | |
| 198512080 | alliteration | the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words | |
| 198512081 | allusion | a direct or indirect reference to something that is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art | |
| 198512082 | ambiguity | the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage | |
| 198512083 | analogy | a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them | |
| 198512084 | antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun | |
| 198512085 | antithesis | a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure | |
| 198512086 | aphorism | a terse statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth or moral principle | |
| 198512087 | apostrophe | a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction | |
| 198512088 | atmosphere | the emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects thata re described | |
| 198512089 | caricature | a representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the subject's distinctive features or peculiarites are deliberately exaggerared to produce a comic or grotesque effect | |
| 198512090 | chiasmus | a figure of speech based on inverted parallelism | |
| 198512091 | clause | a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb | |
| 198512092 | colloquialism | slang or informality in speech or writing | |
| 198512093 | conceit | a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects | |
| 198512094 | connotation | the nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning | |
| 198512095 | denotation | the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color | |
| 198512096 | diction | related to style, refers to the writer's word choices, especially with reagrd to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness | |
| 198512097 | didactic | works that have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles | |
| 198512098 | euphemism | more agreeableor less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts | |
| 198512099 | extended metaphor | a metaphor developed at great length, occuring frequently in or throughout a work | |
| 198512100 | figurative language | writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid | |
| 198512101 | figure of speech | a device used to produce figurative language | |
| 198512102 | generic conventions | describes tradtions for each genre and helps define each one | |
| 198512103 | genre | the major category into which a literary work fits | |
| 198512104 | homily | literally means "sermon" but more informally can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice | |
| 198512105 | hyperbole | a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement | |
| 198512106 | imagery | the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstraction | |
| 198512107 | inference/infer | to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented | |
| 261737537 | invective | an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, verbal language | |
| 261737538 | irony/ironic | the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really menat; the differnece between what appears to be and what actually is true. Three major types: verbal, situational, dramatic | |
| 261737539 | juxtaposition | placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast | |
| 261737540 | loose sentence | A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. If a period were placed at the end of the independent clause, the clause would be a complete sentence. Often seems informal, realxed, and conversational | |
| 261737541 | metaphor | A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of on for the other, suggesting some similarity. Makes language more vivid, imaginative, thought provoking, and meaningful | |
| 261737542 | metynomy | A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closesly associated with it | |
| 261737543 | mood | grammatical (indicative, subjunctive, imperative) or the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work | |
| 261737544 | narrative | The telling of a story or an account of an event or series ofe vents | |
| 261737545 | onomatopoeia | A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words | |
| 261737546 | oxymoron | A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox | |
| 261737547 | paradox | A statment that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense, but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or vitality | |
| 261737548 | parallelism | The grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similiarity | |
| 261737549 | parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule | |
| 261737550 | pedantic | An adjective that decribes words, phrases, or general tone that is over scholoarly, academic, or bookish | |
| 261737551 | periodic sentence | A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end | |
| 261737552 | personification | A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions | |
| 261737553 | point of view | perspective from which the story is told | |
| 261737554 | predicate adjectives | one type of subject complement- an adjective, group of adjectives, or adjective clause that follows a linking verb. It is in the predicate of the sentence and modifies or describes the subject | |
| 261737555 | predicate nominative | one type of subject complement- a noun, group of nouns, or noun clauses that renames the subject. It follows a linking verb and is located in the predicate of the sentence | |
| 261737556 | prose | refers to all fiction and nonfiction because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble eveyday speech | |
| 261737557 | repetition | the duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause sentence, or grammatical pattern | |
| 261737558 | rhetoric | descrbies the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively | |
| 261737559 | rhetoric appeal | the persuasive device by which a writer tries to sway the audience's attention and response to an given work; logos, ethos, pathos | |
| 261737560 | rhetorical modes | describes the variety, the conventions, and the purpose of the major kinds of writing; exposition, argumentation, description, narration | |
| 261737561 | rhetorical question | A question that is merely for effect and does not expect a reply | |
| 261737562 | sarcasm | involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule something or someone | |
| 261737563 | satire | A work that targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions, for reform or ridicule | |
| 261737564 | simile | An explicit comparison, normally using "like", "as", or "if" | |
| 261737565 | style | an evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices or calssification of authors to a group and comparison of an author to cimilar authors | |
| 261737566 | subject complement | the word or clause that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either renaming it or describing it | |
| 262130133 | Subordinate clause | a clause that can't stand alone; also a dependent clause | |
| 262130134 | syllogism | a deductive system of formal logic that rpesents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion | |
| 262130135 | symbol/symbolism | anything that represents or stands for something else | |
| 262130136 | syntax | the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences | |
| 262130137 | theme | the central idea or message of a work, the insight that it offers into life | |
| 262130138 | thesis | the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition | |
| 262130139 | tone | similar to mood, describes the author's similar attitude toward his or her material, the audience, or both | |
| 262130140 | transition | a word or phrase that links different ideas | |
| 262130141 | understatement | the ironic minimizing of fact | |
| 262130142 | wit | intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights | |
| 262130143 | attitude | a writer's intelectual position or emotion regarding the subject of the writing | |
| 262130144 | concrete detail | refers to nouns that name physical objects | |
| 262130145 | descriptive details | details that appeal to the senses | |
| 263310675 | devices | the figures of speech, syntax, diction, and other stylistic elements that collectively produce a particular artistic affect | |
| 263310676 | narrative devices | tools of a storyteller | |
| 263310677 | narrative technique | the style of telling the story even if it's nonfiction | |
| 263310678 | persuasive devices | Words with strong connotations; words that intensify the emotional effect | |
| 263310679 | persuasive essay | presenting a coherent argument in which the evidence builds to a logical and relevant conclusion; often appeal to the audience's emotions or ethical standards | |
| 263310680 | resources of language | refers to all devices of composition available to a writer | |
| 263310681 | rhetorical features | refers to how a passage is constructed | |
| 263310682 | sentence structure | When an essay question asks you to analyze this, look at the type of it the author uses: simple, compound, and complex | |
| 263310683 | stylistic devices | An essay that mentions this is asking you to note and analyze all of the elemnets in language that contribute to style- such as diction, syntax, tone, attitude, figures of speech, connotations, and repetition |
